Felton Prairie Stewardship Plan

Felton Prairie Stewardship Committee

The Felton Prairie Stewardship Committee was organized in 1997 as an outcome of the Clay County Beach Ridges Forum. Development of the stewardship plan was funded by the Minnesota Legislature as recommended by the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCMR) in 1999. The plan addresses land use for approximately 3,000 acres of public land in northern Clay County, east of Felton, Minnesota. The LCMR grant also funded an aggregate resource evaluation completed in 2000 and reclamation of an abandoned gravel mine known as the Zillmer site. Signs interpreting the prairie, gravel mining and reclamation process have been installed at a public parking area and overlook developed at the Zillmer reclamation site.

Origin of the Plan

The need for this plan arose from land use conflicts. The origin of these conflicts results from the co-location of valuable and scarce resources: native prairie and concrete-grade aggregate. Beneath portions of the prairie where endangered species breed and fulfill their life cycles lies high quality aggregate. The Felton Prairie Stewardship Plan addresses how the resources, both mineral and biological, can be managed or balanced for the long-term benefit of citizens in Clay County and the State of Minnesota.